Northern marginalisation: Substantiate your allegation, MBF challenges ACF, Northern elites

The national president of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr Butrus Pogu, has challenged the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the elites in the North to substantiate their allegation of northern marginalisation by the administration of President Bola Tinubu in the scheme of things.

 Pogu said that until they provide statistics comparing what the government has done and is still doing to what is being done in the North, their accusation remains a mere political statement intended to cause disaffection.

He said that a situation where an individual has an axe to grind with the administration should not be interpreted as the position of the majority in the North.

“If the North feels short-changed by being marginalized in any way, let them prove it. If they want us to even begin to consider their argument, they should provide statistics—clear data showing what has been done or is being done. Then we can assess whether there’s truly any disparity. But there’s none. It’s just a political statement.

“Any evidence being put forward to suggest that other parts of this country are developing at a faster or better pace than the North is baseless.

“People forget so quickly. When Buhari was in office, everything was about the North. None of them criticised Buhari then; nobody tells him that he is supposed to rule as a Nigerian president, not just a northern one. So all this noise now is just political.

“Our northern brothers should forget sentiment and face nation-building because all the divisive tendencies cannot help the north and Nigeria as a whole.

“We are not yet a nation; the earlier we come together and face our problem as a nation so that we can develop,” he said.

The MBF leader advised the North to look inward with the aim of addressing most of the challenges confronting the region, as well as avoiding blaming the government for the failure of northern elites. 

The MBF National President submitted that Nigeria is not functioning as a true nation, claiming that the country is still acting like fragmented groups or like the regional blocs the British left behind with their indirect rule system and that the legacy is still haunting us. 

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